Christopher Bell Wins 3rd Straight Race, Triumphs at Phoenix

Christopher Bell raises his arms in victory after Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

AVONDALE, Ariz. — If Christopher Bell is living a dream, then he hopes he does not wake up from his slumber following Sunday’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

After capturing the checkered flag in Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas outside of Austin, Texas, Bell and his No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE team set their sights on the 1-mile D-shaped raceway. Despite staring 11th, it did not take long for Bell to find the lead.

While Bell worked his way toward the front, polesitter William Byron and Joey Logano battled for the number one spot before Logano was assessed with a restart violation for dipping below the yellow line before the start/finish line.

Byron went on to dominate Stage 1, capturing the victory for a valuable Playoff point. The No. 24 Z by HP Chevrolet was a force to be reckoned with throughout the race while Bell’s No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry XSE garnered the pace prevalent in the NASCAR Cup Series‘ prior two races.

On Lap 95, Bell took the lead from Byron before Logano, parlaying clever strategy from crew chief Paul Wolfe, moved to the front with the option, softer tires. However, Logano fell into the clutches of Bell as the soft tires fell off gradually to those running on the prime tire compound.

Bell captured the Stage 2 win ahead of Logano, Byron, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick. It was clear that the No. 20 team had the momentum and pace once again to defend their victory at this venue from last year.

Stage 3 initially offered a long, green flag run before contenders like Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace and Blaney encountered late race issues. Suárez collided with a spinning Katherine Legge on the backstretch while Wallace pounded the Turn 2 wall.

Meanwhile, Blaney, who entered Sunday’s race with six consecutive top five results at Phoenix, saw his bid for another strong result come up in smoke. Engine issues curtailed the 2023 Cup Series champion’s day, bowing out with a 28th place result.

This set up the frantic dash to the finish with the lead lap contenders opting for the red, option tires. Even on the softer compound, Bell’s car was untouchable while Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson emerged as late race contenders.

Even when Ty Gibbs had a frontstretch incident to prompt a two-lap duel for the win, Bell and Hamlin ensured it would be an internal, Joe Gibbs Racing scrap. Larson kept up with the Toyota duo, even driving within striking distance before Bell shut the door on his two nearest competitors.

Coming to the stripe, Bell earned a dramatic win over Hamlin by 0.049 seconds with Larson bested to the line by just 0.097 seconds.

Clambering out of his winning ride, Bell was about as excited as could be with his third consecutive victory.

Christopher Bell held off Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson for the win at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

“It’s really cool. Really cool,” Bell said. “Something that myself as a driver, I’ve worked really hard on to become good at all of the styles of tracks in the Cup Series. I think that’s what it takes to be the best.

Versatile and competitive, Bell observed how he may be finally evolving into the all-around driver who can contender at any venue.

“Ever since I was growing up, I tried to just run everything and be strong at everything, whether it was dirt cars, asphalt cars, wing cars, non-wing cars,” he recalled. “I’ve always believed that the best race car drivers can win at everything.

“It means the world to me that my team has gotten to be successful everywhere. Yeah, we got an intermediate next. So maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes.”

Hamlin earned his first top five finish of the year and second with a runner-up at Phoenix, the culmination of hard work and a hardy push from a rival driver.

“Yeah, great job out of this No. 11 Sport Clips Camry XSE team. Got better and better as it went,” Hamlin said. “Pit crew did a phenomenal job to keep us in the game, and when we had a bad stop in the middle, they made up for it at the end. First time we were able to get some clean air all day. Obviously, our car was really fast. Really kind of wanted it to stay green there because I thought the long runs is really where we were going to be able to excel, especially on these tires. But we got a good restart.

“The No. 5 really gave me a great push on the frontstretch on the restart, down the backstretch. I had kind of position on the No. 20 (Christopher Bell). I knew he was going to ship it in there. He had to use me. He could. Obviously, we just kind of ran out of racetrack there. Great finish. Great job by the whole Joe Gibbs team to give us some fast cars.”

Larson tallied a wise podium, opting to play the safer option versus attempting to fight for the win and potentially taking himself, Bell and Hamlin out of contention in the final restart.

“I had a big enough line to go to the inside of it. My angle can be really bad here and I’m probably going to cause a crash,” Larson said. “I’m already so bogged down, they’re already coming behind me.

“So, yeah, at the last second, I’m like, maybe I’ll go to the top in the straightaway and get them hopefully side-by-side, or who knows what would happen. So, yeah, I felt like I made the right decisions there at the end. I was hoping Bell would get a little bit more desperate and really wash up into Denny.”

Christopher Bell successfully defended his Shriners Children’s 500 victory at Phoenix Raceway. (Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography)

As the saying goes, to the victor goes the spoils and perhaps Bell may be a bit spoiled when it comes to his culinary conquests. Thankfully, he can head to his dining option without worrying about missing his anticipated arrival at his chosen restaurant.

“So normally after the races, it’s a rush to the airplane,” Bell shared. “You go to the airplane and you eat whatever they have on the airplane. Atlanta is a little bit tough to get food there. My bus driver cooked hibachi. I had steak, chicken and rice. Last year at COTA, I had In-N-Out Burger on the airplane.

“Tonight I’m actually staying out west. Myself, my wife Morgan, my best friend Chris Ball and his girlfriend Meghan, we’re going to Blanco. I am excited to get some Mexican food tonight. We were going to make a reservation, but I’m happy we didn’t because we probably would have been late.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. William Byron
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Ryan Preece
4. Christopher Bell
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Josh Berry
7. Carson Hocevar
8. Denny Hamlin
9. Chase Elliott
10. Kyle Larson

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Christopher Bell
2. Joey Logano
3. William Byron
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Tyler Reddick
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Austin Cindric
8. Daniel Suárez
9. Kyle Larson
10. Josh Berry

Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway Race Results

Editor’s Notes

Michele Aerin contributed to this article onsite from Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.